Homebrew Tasting: HQ Brown

Hello Steem, 

As an avid homebrewer I could think of no better way than to share with you my knowledge of brewing beer at home. There is a lot to go over, so for now I will start with a simple tasting.

In the beer fridge today is the latest brew, a brown ale recipe I made using BeerSmith and a new all-grain set up along with my primary equipment.

Recipe:

Brew Date: 20 May 2016

Type: All Grain
Brewer: Treetops

Batch Size: 4.00 gal
Fermentation: Ale, Single Stage
Equipment: Pot and Cooler ( 5 Gal/19 L) - All Grain
ABV: 6.1%

• 8 lbs Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) 
• 2 lbsVictory Malt (biscuit) (Briess)
• 1 lbsCaramel/Crystal Malt
• 1 lbsChocolate Malt 
• 0.75 oz Galaxy [14.00 %] 
• 0.50 ozHallertauer [4.80 %]
• Safale American  (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50.28 ml]
• 5.5 gal distilled water
• Bottled on 3 June 2016

Tasting on 2 August 2016 (about a month after bottling, good time to check the carbonation and fresh flavors)

1. Appearance: Very dark brown with no transparency, eggshell white foam head with low residual retention. low carbonation
2. Aroma: Yeasty with common oxidation, fruity, alcohol prevelant, sweet malty backbone. Slight nuttiness
3. Flavor: Sweet dark malt with a light bitter finnish. slight oxidation that blend with yeasty characters and fruity notes. Caramel flavor, dark bread like pumpernickel. 
4. Mouthfeel: Slightly undercarbonated, leaves the mouthfeel lacking but has great body from the rich dark malts. medium-low body, quite drinkable.
5. Overall: Very pleased with this batch! There was a note of oxidation which I think has been the most subtle so far, and only after a month it is quite pleasant to taste fresh beer. Carbonation could be improved, I was utilizing the BeerSmith calculations for priming sugar and it seemed to be a little short on the total sugar necessary for carbonation. Well balanced and bold for a brown but hits close to that balance of a higher alcoholic and more flavorful beer without becoming overbearing or extreme. Would pair well with chocolate desserts, in pancakes and hard nutty cheeses. 2.9 out of 5

I hope you enjoyed me describing my beer. I really do advise the tasting method for serious drinkers. It is important to put all of our senses into what we are consuming, not just beer but everything. I would love to inspire you to do your own tastings of whatever you like. 

Cheers!